[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 4, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H2943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              LET US WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, our friends on the other side of the 
aisle have opened a Pandora's box by spending most of the 109th 
Congress focused on ethics matters. With all the righteous indignation 
they can muster, the minority has called for investigations of the 
majority leader's every move, even digging up stories as far back as 
1997.
  At the same time, the minority prohibited the Ethics Committee for 4 
months from convening to hear the charges that they were leveling 
against a Member of Congress. It is obvious, Mr. Speaker, that our 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle simply did not want to give 
the majority leader a chance to make his case to the committee and to 
clear his name. They hoped to look like paragons of purity. Instead, we 
know now that they are just the purveyors of partisan politics. By 
grinding the Ethics Committee to a halt, they knew that every story 
about Tom DeLay would have the phrase ``under investigation.'' And why 
give him a chance to prove his innocence when you can trap your 
political nemesis in a cloud of suspicion and controversy? Why have a 
fair hearing when you can rig public opinion through implications and 
accusations in the news media?
  The minority leadership has called for investigations of Mr. DeLay's 
travels. Mr. DeLay has welcomed the chance to present his case, and I 
have full faith that he will present his case vigorously. But I would 
caution and I would ask the minority leader to be more careful to 
consider the implications for her caucus the next time that they call 
for a congressional probe. The minority leader and the minority whip 
have now trapped some of their own Members with their own fiery 
rhetoric.
  The Democratic leadership called for investigations of lobbyists 
paying for travel. What they did not count on was that several members 
of their caucus took trips paid for by registered lobbyists. Some have 
admitted that they missed filing deadlines for disclosures on numerous 
trips. To their credit, they apologized for their errors, but then went 
on to say, I can tell you one thing, Jack Abramoff was not on any one 
of the trips. But Abramoff was involved in travel for other Democratic 
Members. The Associated Press reported yesterday that two Democrats 
``received travel expenses initially paid for by lobbyist Jack Abramoff 
on his credit card or by his firm.''
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I do not want this body to denigrate itself. We do 
not serve the people who elected us and we do not serve our parties in 
the long term if we engage in an ethics war with charges and counter-
charges. Let us be clear: there are no winners in an ethics war. 
Everyone loses. Instead of helping the American people, we disgust 
them. Instead of building up, we tear down the working relationship 
that we need across the aisle to do this Nation's business.
  We need to concentrate on the good things that we have done so far in 
the 109th Congress, like abolishing the inheritance tax, the energy 
bill, the transportation bill, bankruptcy reform, class action lawsuit 
reform, winning the war on terror, protecting our borders; and there 
are many more good things that we need to do in this country, Mr. 
Speaker, for the American people. Let us work together.

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